New from Cambridge University Press!

Edited By Keith Allan and Kasia M. Jaszczolt

This book "fills the unquestionable need for a comprehensive and up-to-date handbook on the fast-developing field of pragmatics" and "includes contributions from many of the principal figures in a wide variety of fields of pragmatic research as well as some up-and-coming pragmatists."

Book Information

So far, there has hardly been any comparison of the language theoryformulated by Petr Sgall, the Functional Generative Description (FGD) oflanguage, with another linguistic theory, such as would not be part of anyprogrammatico-theoretical context. This is equally true of the work of NoamChomsky, which became an important source of inspiration for Sgall. In thepresent volume, the standard theory of transformational grammar (TG) and anearly version of FGD, formulated at about the same time, are compared. Thetext consists of four parts. In the first and second chapters, theoreticalapparati of TG and FGD are briefly introduced, including some generalremarks. The third chapter deals with the genesis of both theories, and thefourth chapter attempts a semiotic view of TG and FGD by looking at the wayin which both theories have grasped and described the relation betweenunits of linguistic form and meaning. The closing fifth chapter draws arough outline of future prospects that might direct further research in thesemiotic potential of other variants of TG and FGD. The monographrepresents the first volume of the new series Travaux linguistiques deBrno, the background and aims of which are formulated in a short collectiveforeword.